Episode Discussion | Star Trek: Lower Decks | 4x01 "Twovix" and 4x02 "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee"

StillPaisleyCat , 9 months ago

Some thoughts after sleeping on it…

— I found the 4 x 01 Twovix the best season premiere yet.

All the premieres seem callback and Easter egg heavy. Making this one a museum (ship) mishap episode worked that into the story in a natural way and allowed some of the weirdest and trippyest things from Voyager to pike on. Bravo.

While some reviewers have expressed regrets that the original Voyager actors voices weren’t used, I’m glad that the focus stayed on the Cerritos crew, the artifacts and how Voyager remains dangerous wherever she is, even as a literal museum.

I am unhappy that the Klingon lower decker and his ship were sacrificed for the seasonal mystery big bad. It’s clear it’s really dangerous though. (Perhaps the mystery ship is collecting humanoids to take them to another era where they are extinct….?)

It’s also likely the case that I enjoyed the ride of the premiere more for knowing I had another new episode to watch immediately.

— The second episode was mostly a straightforward Lower Decks classic, but one that did its job to move the main 4 lower deckers into their new roles.

We’ll have to see how well it works on rewatch, but the moopsie scenes seem likely to be classics. After the Voyager celebration of weird in the season premiere, it was very smart for Lower Decks to underscore its ability to give us its own very original weirdness, and remind us that humanity are the most dangerous in the menagerie.

I’m glad that they make Rutherford a bit of an odd man out in the promotions. I still feel that he’s a bit of an incomplete person/character because his ambition and drive has been submerged by the implant. I really hope that the writers will keep dribbling out more about that.

NuPNuA , 9 months ago

I only watched the first of the two last night, but I’m so glad those of us who called Janeway a murderer for what she did to Tuvix are finally validated since most other Starfleet officers seem to agree.

Magnetar , 9 months ago

I feel like they wouldn’t make a display of the salamanders, as long as Janeway has access to weaponry.

JWBananas , 9 months ago

She nonchalantly told a bunch of kids about it in Prodigy. Or was that Holo Janeway?

CindyLouWho2 , 9 months ago

It was the Admiral.

I have a feeling that someday, we’re going to find out what happened to the children.

arod48 , 9 months ago

Congrats to our four new junior lieutenants, they did in 4 seasons what Harry Kim failed to do in 7.

RootBeerGuy , 9 months ago

Assimilated salamander robot is my new favourite villain. That said, why did the exhibit not display their children?

DharmaCurious , 9 months ago

Because they’re grown now, and have asked star fleet not to use their image in any promotional material. They’re still salty about being abandoned.

JWBananas , 9 months ago

Starfleet are not YouTube influencers. The children have the right to privacy.

nxdefiant , 9 months ago

I wish I could ask the writers if the holodeck scene was a direct call-out to the old something awful blue stripes series

www.somethingawful.com/news/blue-stripe-life-4/

eva_sieve , 9 months ago

All our Wej Duj heroes came back for episode 1! …I hope Ma’ah’s okay.

It’s interesting how between Lower Decks and Prodigy (plus some brief mentions in other post-VOY shows) we have a decent picture of how the universe view now-Admiral Janeway. It’s clear she’s viewed with a sort of heroic reverence, Captain Freeman assumed that Janeway’s logs would have a good answer for a Tuvix situation. Voyager’s celebrity status has definitely inflated her image a little, really put’s Dal’s awkward first encounter with the real Janeway in perspective.

It feels very right that they didn’t actually dive into the morality of killing Tuvix other than “that’s messed up!” and making the Tuvix’d crew clearly in the wrong/not sapient before de-Tuvixing them. Lower Decks does earnest optimism about Starfleet well, but I don’t think deep dives into moral situations are something for a goofy 22 minute show.

williams_482 , 9 months ago

I’m honestly disappointed about the double release, because now I have to process two awesome episodes at the same time and I keep getting them mixed up.

Quick hitters, in no particular order:

• love Ransom demonstrating competent personnel management, another “surprise” twist of stuff working as it should.
• the Shax/Ransom exercise scene is fabulous
• Did that macro virus really get stuck behind a panel on the bridge for a decade (ish), or did curator guy cook it up to enhance the exhibit?
• the whole Tuvix sequence was the perfect absurdist sequel to the original episode. Apparently T’Lynn and all of the merged persons are also cold blooded murderers in their own special ways.

Wooster , 9 months ago

The DS9 episode was handled with such dignity, but the Voyager episode was a fever dream and I am absolutely here for it!

After 3 seasons, it’s surprising to finally have a voice actor for Westlake.

I didn’t know I needed Clarinet Macro Viruses and assimilated Salamander Automatons at the helm, but my gosh did the LD team deliver!

I wonder if the promotion rollout explains why marketing for this season was so sparse.

I LOVED Shaxs talking about his relationship issues with Ransom and the fourth wall lean on the tubes was perfection.

lwaxana_katana , 9 months ago

Omg yes! That scene was so good. I feel like Gates McFadden and Marina Sirtis would have enjoyed it most of all lol.

eva_sieve , 9 months ago

They’ve definitely edited some of the rank pips in trailer shots we haven’t seen yet (and some we have). Might explain why T’lyn is rocking a standard ensign pip a bit into the first trailer.

khaosworks , 9 months ago

Annotations on both episodes are up at startrek.website/post/1491160 and startrek.website/post/1493824

lwaxana_katana , 9 months ago

These episodes were both great. I have shipped Mariner/Ransom since s1 and, well, honestly, this new dynamic of theirs probably makes it even less likely than it ever was lol. But they were fun episodes. I do wish Lower Decks had more episodes, since they’re only 20 min/ea.